Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X, remembered in metro Detroit

May 11, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Dawud Walid, director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (left) with Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X (right), at an Islamic conference in Miami, Florida, in July 2010. / Photo courtesy of Dawud Walid

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Muslims and African-Americans in metro Detroit are mourning the death of Malcolm Shabazz -- Malcolm X's oldest grandson -- as they remember his warmth and activism. Shabazz, 28, was reportedly killed in Mexico City on Thursday, according to his family in a statement released Friday.

On Saturday, a special service will be held at 10 a.m. at Historic King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit to remember Shabazz; his grandfather delivered noted speeches at the Detroit church in the 1960s.

"I'm praying for his family, mother, and all those who are affected by his death," said Rev. Charles Williams II, pastor of the church.

After years of troubles with the law -- most notably, he set a fire in 1997 that killed his grandmother Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X -- Shabazz was working on turning his life around, say local Muslims.

In recent years, Shabazz had visited Michigan several times to speak in local mosques and attend services. His grandfather, an iconic black leader, was raised in Michigan, where the Nation of Islam started.

Given Michigan's sizeable Muslim and African-American communities, his death has been felt by many in the area. He was mentioned at some mosques Friday during their weekly sermons.

His recent conversion to the Shia branch of Islam connected him with Shia Muslims in metro Detroit. On his Facebook page, Shabazz had links to Shia clerics as well as Detroit rapper Eminem.

"I see his death as very tragic," said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "He had difficulties earlier in his life, but he made great strides to move past his mistakes and benefit the community."

Shabazz had spoken at the Muslim Center in Detroit and at the Muslim Congress' annual Shia conference last year, which was held in Dearborn. He also attended services at a mosque in East Lansing.

Walid said he first met Shabazz at an Islamic conference three years ago in Florida. At the time, Shabazz had recently returned from a stay in Syria, where he had studied.

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"We discussed a number of issues, including the time he spent in Syria, his other travels in the Muslim world...his pilgrimage to Mecca."

Shabazz converted to the Shia branch of Islam before his 2010 pilgrimage to Mecca. He was born into a Sunni family; Malcolm X embraced Sunni Islam after leaving the Nation of Islam.

Mariam Jafri, who attends a Shia mosque in Walled Lake, said she met Shabazz on hajj in 2011.

"It's a deeply saddening event," Jafri said of Shabazz's death. "It's a great loss for everyone."

In addition to hajj, Jafri met Shabazz at Shia Muslim conferences.

"He was very kind," she said. "He smiled whenever you talked to him. You just felt a warmth coming from him."

Shabazz was "amenable," Walid recalled. "He smiled a lot, had a pleasant disposition. A lot of the young Muslims really liked him. The children of immigrants from the Middle East and South Asia connected well with him."

Shabazz's challenges in his life, which included stays in prison, will be addressed Saturday at the Baptist church holding a service in his memory.

"His story represents the struggles that so many young African-American men face in trying to stay out of the justice system, the prison pipeline" said Rev. Williams. "It pushes us to do more, to make sure we keep young people away from mischievous acts and out of jail."